Lighthouse at the End of the World: The First English Translation of Verne's Original Manuscript

by Jules Verne, Michel Verne, Julio Verne, et al.

Book Overview

At the extreme tip of South America, Staten Island has piercing Antarctic winds, lonely coasts assaulted by breakers, and sailors lost as their vessels smash on the dark rocks. Now that civilization dares to rule here, a lighthouse penetrates the last and wildest place of all. But Vasquez, the guardian of the sacred light, has not reckoned with the vicious, desperate Kongre gang, who murder his two friends and force him out into the wilderness. Alone,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803260075
• ISBN13: 9780803260078
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Bison Books
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Anxious To Read This

The Publishers Weekly reviewer reveals his intellectual snobbery in mocking phrases such as "tippy tip." But when critics find a work one-dimensional, I often see layers of meaning. Maybe it's because to me the story is more important than the mechanics of how it's delivered. I have not yet read this book, but I've seen the 1971 movie based on it starring Kirk Douglas, Yul Brynner, and Samantha Eggar. As usual, artistic license was taken in changing the main character to an American and so forth, but from reading the plot synopsis it seems the movie preserves the main outline and events of the novel. The movie was brutal, and the dimwits in Hollywood tried to market it as Christmas family fare simply because it was written by Jules Verne. The censor boards forced cuts, resulting in an uneven film with little advertising which failed at the box office. But when I saw it on television I was haunted by the story for years, and just recently paid fifty bucks to get one of the out-of-print DVDs. It's rated PG, but I think it should be PG-13. There is some physical action, but most of the action is spiritual and psychological and boy, is there plenty of that. So don't let the fact that this novel was written by Jules Verne make you think it's just for kids; I don't think Verne considered himself to be a writer of children's books! It's also great to have a more recent unpredjudiced translation based on the original manuscript.

A true classic

This is a classic hero saves the day story, except it was written long before Hollywood was ever in existence. It was a good, short, and action packed novel sure to please anyone who reads it. No, this isn't Pirates of the Caribbean, these pirates are the real deal and they don't give anyone a chance. Arrghh, a real treasure of a book matey!

One of Verne's best books

One of the greatest adventure books of all time, whose basic plot has been copied by many other books and movies (including the Die Hard films). In the 1850s, the Argentine navy erects a lighthouse at Isla de los Estados, in the southern tip of South America, near the Magellan Strait that connects the Atlantic and the Pacific and in the turbulent waters that had witnessed many shipwrecks throughout the centuries. Left behind in the lighthouse to guard it are three sailors, without knowing that in the island lie pirates with a plot to takeover the lighthouse in order to intentionally shipwreck the ships passing by and take over their treasures. A sailor escapes alive the seizure of the lighthouse by the pirates and a game of cat and mouse begins (if you seen Die Hard, you can imagine the plot, with the guard trying to hit back at the pirates). A great adventure book that you can read fast and easily.

Survival and Suspense

Don't read this book execting all of the "good guys" to survive. It's too realistic for that, but it was great. It had a pleasing ending and the "bad guys" got their dues. If you like modern-day stories, don't read this. If you like classic adventures, you'll like it. Also, it made me feel what the main character was feeling.

Early thrill-a-minute novel

Beware: I will give away some of the plotThe modern action novel has its English antecedents in the books of Robert Louis Stevenson, and, it turns out, its French antecedents in those of Jules Verne. This short and exciting novel could be described as Die Hard with pirates. On an Island on the southernmost tip of South America a lighthouse is built and three men are left behind to tend it. The island is also inhabited by pirates, who capture a damaged schooner, bring it into the port with the lighthouse, and immediately kill two of the lighthouse keepers. The third escapes and must survive on his wits and attempt to stop the pirates from leaving the island until a group of soldiers come to relieve him. Pretty gripping stuff.I highly recommend this for those interested in seeing the roots of the modern action novel (who would have thought that the literary path to Alistair MacLean and Robert Ludlum would have passed through Jules Verne), as well as anyone interested in lighthouses (the descriptions of the island and the function of the lighthouse are great) and, of course, Jules Verne. It is also great to compare this to Robert Louis Stevenson's seafaring novels, especially Treasure Island, Ebb-Tide and The Wrecker. The writing in this translation is a bit simple. I suspect that this is due to the translator, who was not an artist but a mechanic. Based on a brief comparison with a French text of the novel, however, the translation seems accurate, and it is definitely readable.